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Pan Am Games security costs jump again, but province won’t say why

Security budget for TO 2015 now $239 million — more than double original estimate — though no security firm has yet been hired, and officials can’t say how many guards will be needed.

Construction of the Canary development for the Pan Am Games is seen in November 2013. The province said Monday that the cost of security for the games has jumped by $33 million from the previous estimate of $206 million. (Nick Kozak / file photo for the Toronto Star)

It also comes amid warnings that the price could soar again, with Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Madeleine Meilleur pointing out that the security bill is a moving target given that any increased threat could drive the final figure even higher.

“Right now the threat for the Games is low, but let’s say that the threat does increase. Then we — the OPP and the planning committee — will have to adjust according to the threat,” Meilleur said.

“The planning for security for the Pan Am Games is evolving and one fact that has increased the cost is the private security … (because) the cost that came back is higher than what we had forecast.”

Pan Am officials said Monday that the Games are on time and on budget.

But NDP critic Jagmeet Singh (MPP for Brampton-Gore-Malton) said the security budget can’t be a “blank cheque.”

“We need to know what’s being budgeted for and what is being done in a rational and a logical way, and we can’t accept exorbitant costs that continually increase without any sort of strong rationale and without any sort of predictability. That is unacceptable,” Singh said.

“Simply using the language of security, it shouldn’t give the government a blank cheque to do whatever they want or to have any sort of cost.”

It will cost taxpayers at least $2.5 billion — including the cost of an athletes' village — to host the Games, which will draw 7,666 athletes competing in 51 sports at venues in 14 municipalities, including Toronto, Hamilton, Milton, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Caledon, St. Catharines and Welland.

It is the province’s responsibility and not that of the organizing committee to pick up the tab for security and transportation at the Games.

Tory MPP Rod Jackson (Barrie) said the government maintains planning for the Games is on time and on budget, “yet at the same time they are making an announcement about how the budget for security costs (has) gone up tens of millions of dollars … It just speaks to the lack of transparency and lack of accountability this government has.

“You don’t make your budget after you’ve spent the money …” he said. “It is easy to be on time and on budget if your budget is a moving target,” Jackson said.

“The minister (Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Michael Chan) clearly has absolutely no idea what’s going on within his own responsibility and I think it’s time he stepped down.”

Chan told the legislature Monday: “I’m very pleased to inform that the Pan Am Games is on time, on budget and, perhaps, ahead of time and also under budget.” Chan said Jackson has “zero credibility.”

The Ontario Provincial Police will take the lead on security at the Games but will be assisted by eight municipal police forces as well as private guards.

The Liberal government in September quietly amended legislation allowing private security guards to work alongside the OPP and other police at the Games.

The amendment to the Private Security and Investigative Services Act was made to allow the OPP to hire the guards, who will perform routine security functions, such as searching bags, at the Games.

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